After experiencing the crowd support offered to his team in Georgia Tech’s win over Duke on Saturday, interim coach Brent Key has asked for more.
“We need a great crowd on Thursday night to really help these kids and motivate these kids and show them that everyone’s behind them in their quest to be successful Thursday night,” Key said Tuesday.
Tech will play Virginia on Oct. 20 at Bobby Dodd Stadium after its open date this week. Tech credited the crowd, particularly the student section in the north end zone, for its impact in the 23-20 overtime win over Duke. Key called the support “outstanding.”
“There was one particular play where we kick off and Gavin (Stewart) kicks it through the end zone and the entire kickoff team runs through the back of the end zone and they’re getting the fans going and the student section going,” Key said. “The student section’s going crazy. Just that moment carried on through the rest of the game, and having the ability to play the overtime in this end zone really was a big, determining factor in how the game ended.”
While energetic, the attendance at the game was smaller than might have been expected, particularly given the excitement that the Yellow Jackets generated with their win over Pitt the previous week in Key’s debut as interim coach. On an ideal afternoon on homecoming weekend, the announced crowd of 32,041 was the second smallest since a November 1989 game against Boston College (only last year’s game against Boston College was smaller). It was the smallest homecoming attendance since 1983.
The Virginia game is one of two remaining home dates for the Jackets along with the Nov. 12 game against Miami.
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